HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

We've finally settled on a cover for BETRAYAL and to honor that and in the spirit of giving, I'm sending out one precious ARC of BETRAYAL. You'll be able to see the original cover concept and how it changed and read the book three months before it comes out in March! 

The giveaway is on Goodreads. You do have to be a member, but if you're here you obviously love reading, so why not become a member? It's free, it's fun, and you can friend me if you like.

Enter to WIN, and good luck.

And happy everything to everyone who celebrates anything this month!

XO Lee

Contest ends December 25th!

It's Almost Halloween!

And the perfect time for ghost stories. So A Life Bound by Books has a new excerpt from BETRAYAL,  the second Haunting Emma novel. This is a different excerpt than the one printed in the back of DECEPTION, and is suitably spooky for Halloween. You can also enter to win a signed hardcover of DECEPTION!

Go HERE to see a mock-up of the new cover, read what the book is about, along with a short except, and to win DECEPTION.

Contest ends October 20th.

And the Winner is ...

Sarah B.!

And to prove this was a totally random choosing, here is a picture of my son picking the name out of a hat. He looks thrilled for you, Sarah. Okay, he doesn't, but I'm happy for you. Email me your address at LeeXNichols at gmail.com and I'll mail you the book. Thanks everyone for playing. Sorry, there was only one copy to give out.

It's Giveaway Time!

And this time, it’s not my own book. I’d read about THE DUFF everywhere and since the author, Kody Keplinger and I are represented by the same agency I begged my agent for a copy of the ARC (advance reader copy), which is the copy I’m giving away. It's a different bubble gum-less cover which I like just as much.

From Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home ...more 
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

Why you should try to win it:

Because the book is good. One of my favorite books this year. I completely identified with Bianca, loved Wesley and thought it read like real life. I fell for the romance, Bianca’s snarky sense of humor and the lust-worthy Wesley. 

I asked Kody a few questions about the book and here are her lovely answers. 

1. When I was seventeen I wrote bad poetry, it didn't even occur to me that I could write a book. In fact, I can remember thinking, How on earth do people do that? When did you realize you could actually complete a novel?

 See, I was the opposite.  It never occured to me that I COULDN'T write a novel.  I tired many times when I was little, little bitty.  LIke, my first "novel" attempt was at age nine after reading Judy Blume's DEANIE. I tried again, and finished what I thought was a novel when I was 11 - this one a Harry Potter rip off if there ever was one.  I tried tons of other times with varying amounts of success, and then for a while just did fan fiction.  But I never had that thought of "I can't."  I always knew I wanted to, so I just . . . did it. I try to approach everything in life - going away for college, spending a summer in NYC, making new friends - that way. Never think "I can't."  Always just know you want to and for that reason alone, it could happen.

2. How did you come up with the names Bianca and Wesley, which I love?

You know, no one has ever asked me this before.

With Wesley, I had been dying for a reason to use the name.  Ever since I started watching Angel and met the character of Wesley on there, I fell in love with not only him but the name.  There are so many good Wesleys.  Princess Bride anyone?  Anyway, I knew that it was my favorite name ever, and therefore this love interest should be named Wesley.

With Bianca . . . I have no idea.  I always kind of liked hte name, but by no means was it a favorite.  But when I started writing, I knew immediately that this girl was named Bianca.  Most of my girl characters are that way - the names just sort of come with their characters.

3. I read recently on your blog that you were just starting to read romance novels for the first time, yet I think one of the elements in The Duff that works so well, is the romance. Where did you get your wonderful sense of romance?

Lots and lots of TV.

The OC, Gossip Girl - hell, even Friends.  They all had/have great romances that kept me on my toes.  I just took the aspects of those that I thought worked and put them in book form.  It was so fun!

4. Do you feel like your career path is set, you will be a writer, or do you have other goals you hope to achieve?

I have a million and one things I want to try.  I"ll always write, but I want to do other things, too. I want to work in publishign on both sides. I want to experiment with screenplays. I love the theater, too.  I've got a load of interests and goals.  I enjoy chasing them.

5. What's your next book?

Well, I can't give details yet, but I can say that it will be out in Fall 2011 and it was super fun to write!

Check out Kody's website with links to Twitter and Facebook. She’s fun and funny to follow.

The rules:

All you have to do is comment here and I’ll put your name in the hat. Tweeting/FBing/bloging about the contest is highly appreciated. Help me get the word out for Kody.

Contest is open to U.S. residents until 7:00 a.m. Sunday, September 26, 2010.  Yes, that is a random date and time.

Good luck!

Lee

Oops It's Been Almost a Month

Almost a month since I last posted. Please, if you care to know what I'm up to, follow me on Twitter or Friend me on Facebook. This site really is for news, not daily postings.

Okay, so here's the news:

WriteOnCon. A bunch of really cool kid lit authors got together and decided to have an online writer's conference for all those people who couldn't make it to any of the other writer's conferences this year. They're offering an amazing list of events with tons of great publishing professionals and writers.

It starts tomorrow, August 10th, and best of all, it's FREE.

I'll be in and out of the forums, hope to see you there!

Lee

P.S. The cover of BETRAYAL is in the works and I hope to be able to share it soon.

Winners Have Ben Announced

Thanks to everyone who participated in Kathleen Ortiz's contest. I loved all the answers and was really touched by some of emotional responses.

Check out Neverending Page Turner to see who won. She's also got information about her regular submission guidelines and an upcoming blog about book trailers, which I'm looking forward to.

New Fabulous Contest!

If you've written a YA novel and are hoping to catch the notice of a fantastic agent, this is the contest for you. Grand Prize is a 30 page critique from literary agents Kathleen Ortiz, Mandy Hubbard and Victoria Marini and a signed hardcover of DECEPTION. Two runners up will receive signed paperback editions of DECEPTION.

Kathleen Ortiz is an Associate Agent and Foreign Rights Manager at Lowenstein Associates.

Mandy Hubbard is a is the author of Prada & Prejudice and You Wish. She is also a literary agent for D4EO Literary.

Victoria Marini is an Assistant Agent at Gelfman Schneider Literary.

All three of them will read and critique the first 30 pages of your manuscript.

I would have loved this when I was querying agents. Actually, I'd still love it, because it's always wonderful to have professionals evaluate your manuscript to let you know what works and what doesn't.

CONTEST DETAILS at KathleenOrtiz.com. The sweet, kind, wonderful Kathleen is responsible for this contest. So be nice and thank her! And be quick about it. Contest Ends Friday July 9!


And if you don't win this contest, but still would like to win a copy of DECEPTION, follow me on twitter: @LeeXNichols. I tweet about new contests all the time.

More Blog Tour Stops/Reviews

I just want to thank all the wonderful people who have interviewed me and/or reviewed DECEPTION. Please dm on Twitter/FB or email me if I've missed posting a link. I'm amazed by the generosity of bloggers and wonderful reviewers. Thank you, thank you!!!

P.S. Lots of the links include contests for free copies of DECEPTION. GL!

XO

Lee

ReadingBliss

TalesofWhimsy

ZoesBookReviews

TheNeverEndingShelf

FayeFlameReviews

WritingisABlessing

TheHidingSpot

Blog Tour

This month for the release of DECEPTION, the first HAUNTING EMMA, I'm doing a blog tour. Hitting teen and book review sites, answering any questions they're willing to ask.

By happy accident, I'm interviewed three places today. All different questions and answers. So, even if you're not my mother, you might want to check them all out. And they're all fantastic sites--I'm really honored that they were willing to host me.

The Book Whisperer

Manga Maniac Cafe

The Eclectic Book Lover

And my loves, Lisa and Laura Roecker, have listed their Top 5 Reasons You Need to Read DECEPTION. Plus they're giving away a copy of the ARC. Warning: you have to work to win it.

Contests

More contest links, because winning free books is the best.

Nomadreader

Carrie's YA Bookshelf

Turkey!

My lovely editor emailed me yesterday to tell me DECEPTION will be published in Turkey.

When I put Deception into a Turkish translator this is what came up: kandırma, aldatma, dalavere, hile, aldanma; ayartma; kanma; utanç

They probably won't title it any of those things. Though, at the moment, my personal favorite is Dalavere, which sounds sort of dashing.

Giveaways

I've got two DECEPTION gieveaways going on this month. One at the lovely Suzie Townsend's blog. You can enter until May 31st. Up your chances of winning by tweeting, facebooking and blogging about the contest, as well as by following Suzie. And you should definitely follow Suzie, because she's funny and wise, gives great advice about publishing, and posts awesome links.

Contest at Suzie's.


I'm also doing a giveaway on Goodreads. And you can enter to win that copy until June 8th, which is the official release date for DECEPTION!

Contest at Goodreads


There will be many more giveaways to come and I will post about them here, so keep checking back.

Another Review

I wish they all could be like this one from Hope's Bookshelf. She even has the best summary I've seen so far, including anything I've written.

Summary: Emma's parents go on a mysterious business trip, and instead of being the rebellious teen she wants to be, she ends up having visions and fearing for her life.

Review: Nichols truly does have a wonderful novel on her hands. I devoured this book. Emma is a character that is very easy to read about, and Nichols has a wonderful style. My only complaint is the cliffhanger at the end! I need the next book pronto! Grade: A.

It's Been A While

I've been working hard on various projects, including revising BETRAYAL the second Haunting Emma book and starting to write POSSESSION, the third book in the series. But DECEPTION comes out June 8th and the reviews are starting to come in. And today I received my copies of the book in the mail, which is always a thrill.

Here are some of the reviews:

When 17-year-old Emma drops her antiques-dealer parents at San Francisco’s airport for a business trip, she’s set for three weeks of rebellion. However, her freedom is cut short when her parents vanish and the authorities are tipped off that she’s home alone. Seemingly randomly, her older brother’s preppy, hot college friend, Bennett, rescues Emma by bringing her back to his eerie New England hometown, where she’ll live with his family and attend an exclusive private school. As Emma settles into her new home, which doubles as a museum, violent imagery from her childhood creeps into her consciousness, but fortunately a cast of friendly spirits appear to help her navigate what she learns is her role as a powerful ghostkeeper. Balancing this text’s heavy supernatural vibe and sometimes gruesome details are elements of modern teenage life, including Emma’s crush on Bennett and conventional high-school friendship dramas, making this first installment in the Haunting Emma series light fun with a mildly chilling edge and sense of mystery. – Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus is notoriously mean, so I'm pretty happy with this.

And Booklist says "... it’s full speed ahead as an evil force gathers strength and leads Emma’s friend into the dangers of the ghostly world. Romance is one of the main reasons readers will keep turning the pages; the end contains a shocker that will leave them anxious for the next book in the Haunting Emma series."

Plus three fabulous, favorite authors of mine were willing to read the manuscript and offered blurbs:

“Kind of creepy and quirky, It’s impossible not to
fall in love with Deception.” —Carrie Jones,
New York Times–bestselling author of Need and Captivate

"If you love supernatural scares, family secrets, forbidden love -- and
heroines who don't let any of these things stand in their way --
you're going to love DECEPTION." –Claudia Gray, New York Times-bestselling author of the Evernight series

"A spine-chilling page-turner. You won't know who to trust... but you will enjoy the ride!" –Sarah Mlynowski, bestselling author of Bras and Broomsticks

So, all in all, I couldn't be more excited!

Cookies and Welcome

I want to welcome the new followers! I'm not a great blogger, so I apologize in advance. Thanks for taking the leap of faith.

A friend asked if I was going to post another recipe today. I wasn't planning on it, but the weather here is Maine is gray and soggy and just the kind of afternoon I like to bake cookies with my son.

So here is what we're making:

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

No harder than regular chocolate chip cookies and there's something satisfying about mashing bananas. Hope you all have a sweet day!

Cooking

I don't love to cook, but I do love to eat and since I live in a small town in Maine where there is no delivery (I don't count Domino's) and very little take out, we cook a lot. So Wednesdays will now officially be Recipe Wednesday.

When I was home in Santa Barbara over the December holidays, Tortilla soup was on everyone's menu. At friend's houses and in restaurants. It's weird how foods suddenly become trendy. I'm a vegetarian and so is this recipe, but you could easily toss in cooked chicken at the end, along with sour cream, tortilla chips, avocado and cheese. This has become a favorite around here. And it's easy to make.

Tortilla Soup

Reading

This is what I'm enjoying this week:

Finally got a chance to read the first in Claudia Gray's EVERNIGHT series. Though, I had a general idea about the plot, she handled it in unexpected ways. Really loved the major twist at the midpoint--caught me by surprise. Romantic and thrilling. Can see why so many readers loved it.

This short story by Claire Keegan in the New Yorker made me cry: Foster

And I'm reading TOYS GO OUT, by Emily Jenkins, to my five year old son. I've had trouble finding chapter books for this age group that are more charming than sarcastic. Adore Beverly Cleary's RAMONA series, because she manages to be both. But it's nice to see something contemporary (TOYS GO OUT was published in 2006) that isn't all seven and eight-year-olds calling each other "stupid head." Or a total snoreville, like the 143 MAGIC TREE HOUSE books. This is funny and sweet about the lives toys live.

Nostalgia

Just made a batch of split pea soup.

From the time I was five until I was probably ten, I ate so much Campbell's pea soup (plain and split pea with ham) that my family called me "Little Pea."

I haven't had a can of Campbell's for probably twenty years and now I only eat homemade about once a year. But every time I do, I think of how much it was favorite food and how now I think it's just okay. And how it doesn't seem right that my taste buds should have changed so profoundly.

I don't really know what pea soup has to do with J.D. Salinger, except that I'm nostalgic about him too. The first literary author I really fell in love with. At fifteen, I read everything he'd written and was disappointed that I couldn't get my hands on more. But like pea soup, when I went back to him as an adult, he didn't speak to me in the same way. I didn't fall in love again. My tastes had changed.

Still, he was brilliant. And Adam Gopnik wrote a wonderful obit for him in the New Yorker. J.D. Salinger

Balls

I keep my To Do lists, book ideas, research, and pretty much everything else in my stickies on my computer. While cleaning them out today, I discovered a quote from my then four year old son:

"Do you think the bouncy people who make bouncy balls, made this the bounciest ball ever?"

He came bouncing in the bedroom that morning, bouncing a ball meant to go 75 feet in the air. Later that day we bounced it over the house into the back field, and never saw it again. So yes, I do think the bouncy people who make bouncy balls, made that the bounciest ball ever.